In an effort to keep employees feeling (and performing) their
best in those conditions, companies like Facebook and LinkedIn
have started to pay for on-the-clock "coaching" through a startup
called BetterUp. Employees
meet virtually with licensed therapists and executive coaches to
work on skills related to collaboration, stress management, and
goal-setting.

They're also welcome to vent as needed about burnout,
relationship troubles, crummy managers, and everything in
between.

"It's about moving the needle in their personal life and
their work life," Alexi Robichaux, cofounder and CEO of BetterUp,
told Business Insider.

Founded in 2013, BetterUp sells its services exclusively to large
organizations with over 10,000 employees. Its clients include
Salesforce, Capital One, Square, Logitech, and even Buffalo Wild
Wings. Chief executives, mid-level managers, and even lower-level
employees who show high potential can all opt into the service,
which honors a strict confidentiality code.

Traditionally, counseling and executive coaching have been
siloed, with separate providers. BetterUp's approach is to coach
"the whole person" - and have their employer pay for it. The
company hopes to challenge the reputation of coaching as a
hippy-dippy practice wherein "life coaches" (some with dubious
qualifications) dole out advice online and charge a premium.

"Most of working America thinks that the only coaching is
life-coaching, which is like some dude in Alabama on Skype and
you have no idea if he's wearing pants," Robichaux
said.

BetterUp

When an employee signs up for BetterUp, they find a coach
by swiping through profiles on an app. (Sound familiar?) The
coaches' profiles describe their training and areas of expertise.
They range from therapists and psychologists to coaches certified
by the International Coach Federation. Employees video-chat with
their coach through the app on a weekly or monthly schedule and
follow up by text between sessions.

BetterUp aims to develop soft skills such as regulating your
emotions, finding your flow, communicating a clear vision, and
fostering collaboration, which are all arguably skills that are
as useful at home as at work. The slogan reads, "Thrive
Personally, Inspire Professionally."

Someone who comes to gripe about a micro-managing manager
has an opportunity to complain, but is also prompted to
think about why it bothers them so much, and to develop behaviors
that support the manager's needs. A person who struggles with
anxiety in the workplace might be prescribed a meditation regime
through an app like Headspace.

BetterUp

Every three months, BetterUp sends employees a questionnaire so
the startup can track specific data points, like employees'
assessments of their focus, problem solving, influence, "mental
agility," and "presence," over time.

BetterUp says that 95% of members report being highly satisfied
with the service (though Business Insider could not independently
verify that number). The company also says that most companies
using the service opt to increase their payment in the first year
in order to double the number of employees who can participate.
(Pricing is based on the number of users.)

Robichaux imagines that someday, BetterUp could be more
than a tech company perk. If the model takes off as he hopes,
coaching could become part of an employer-provided benefits
package, along with health insurance.

"Millennials are the first generation to unashamedly come
to the conclusion, 'If work is taking more of my time, then it
should be contributing more to my human fulfillment,'" Robichaux
said. "It's only fair, right?"